


Desk Refurbishing

by minkhollow



Series: protag!Kanji [5]
Category: Persona 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Side Quests, protag!swap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-06 21:24:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5431259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minkhollow/pseuds/minkhollow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One of Kanji's classmates asks him to find her some stuff throughout the year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Desk Refurbishing

**Author's Note:**

> It occurred to me, based on game dialogue when you take the desk girl's quests, that her interactions with Kanji would be... somewhat rockier, at least to start. And then I got to wondering how the whole quest chain (including the fact that her dad's the model shop guy) would play out. This has little impact on the overall AU, but it does drop some hints about future social links and the story's trajectory.

**May**

Kanji sighs. “You don’t know anything?”

“Why would I?” Marutake-san all but snaps, folding her arms across her chest like she’s trying to close down the discussion. “The only stuff I know about the Detective Prince is what was on the news, and I wasn’t paying that much attention. I don’t care about some celebrity working with the police. I care about my hometown being in danger, I care about the fact that Dad hasn’t stopped moping since he had to close the shop, I – I care about the fact that _you_ have something you don’t give a damn about, and I don’t even have that!”

“Well, I can’t – wait a sec. What d’you think I don’t give a damn about?”

“Your family’s shop. Isn’t it obvious? I mean, do you really think you’re going to be up to running a textile shop?”

It’s all he can do not to snap at her, not to storm off – at least punching someone who didn’t hit first isn’t his gut instinct in a situation like this. He hesitates for a second, then decides he might as well go all out. She doesn’t believe him? He’ll prove her all the way wrong.

So he gets out his cell phone, adorable hand-crocheted bunny strap and all, and about shoves it in Marutake-san’s face. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I’m up to the challenge. What was it you were plannin’ on doing with a model shop when we graduate?”

She deflates, hanging her head. “I’m sorry. I was out of line.”

“It’s okay, man.” God knows Kanji’s done worse for stupider reasons himself; ain’t like he can really blame her. “Anyway, I better get—”

“Tatsumi-kun, wait a second. I… Dad glued one of his stupid models to my desk, and with the lumber store closed I have no idea where to start looking. You – well, I guess you know more art stuff than I thought. Do you have any idea where I could get a new board for the top? I can’t study with a robot staring at me all night.”

He’s really not sure why she let her dad build a model on her desk in the first place, but whatever. “I might know a place,” he says. “Let me look into it.”

**June**

Kanji’s a little surprised when Marutake-san approaches him at lunch. Sure, they figured out that first bump, but it ain’t like they’re ever gonna be great friends.

“About that board you got me last month.”

“It not work out?”

She shakes her head. “Oh, no, it was fine for a while, but… I really need to get Dad in the habit of laying down newspaper before he starts working. It’s bad enough he’s obsessed with the leftover models in the first place, but now I have a _boat_ glued to my desk. The robot at least didn’t take up half of it!”

Kanji snorts before he can help it. “Man, of all the luck. Sounds like what he needs is a desk’f his own.”

“Yeah, if we ever have the budget for it again, Mom’s planning to get him one. But until then, is there such a thing as glue-repelling wood? If I can at least keep him from getting anything else stuck to my desk for now, it’ll help a lot.”

Glue-repelling wood? Kanji’s never heard of anything like it. But if that pole from Yukiko-senpai’s dungeon was good enough for Sofue-sensei, there’s probably _something_ in the TV world that’ll fit the bill. Not that he’s gonna tell Marutake-san where it’s from, but still.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he says, and she brightens up a lot.

**July**

They still don’t talk much, but Kanji’s less surprised when Marutake-san comes to bug him in the sewing club room. In a way, he’s not even surprised she knew she could find him there – she spends all _her_ damn free time in the practice building, she probably noticed him trying to work up the nerve to go in.

“Dad said you put together one of the spare models for him,” she says.

Kanji shrugs. “Yeah, well. Least I could do. Figured it’d lift his spirits some.” That and the fox at the shrine put him up to it, but he ain’t about to go into that with her, not with Rule Five to consider and all. Just because _he_ wouldn’t be surprised to see the damn fox around with more than one tail one of these days doesn’t mean anyone else is looking out for that.

Besides, it’d make it sound like he was only in it to save money. Sure, that’s part of it, but it’s nothing like all of it.

“It did. I haven’t seen him smile that much in months, and he and Mom stopped yelling at each other about looking for jobs, so I think he really got into that again. He’s been so stuck on not wanting to work for anyone else after having his own business, and—” She cuts herself off. “Sorry. I just… wanted to say thanks.”

“No problem. He said he’d give me more of ‘em as he cleans out the old stock, so hopefully he won’t glue ‘em to your homework anymore.”

Marutake-san actually laughs – Kanji’s pretty sure he’s never heard that before. “Hopefully. That’s just what I’d need in the middle of finals studying.”

**September**

“Kanji-kun?”

Kanji’s not sure when Aoi-san decided they were on a given-name basis, but hell, he can roll with it. It’s better than her accusing him of not giving a damn about the shop. He’s still feeling pretty worn down from Taka-senpai’s dungeon – seriously, that was worse than Naoto’s, and with Naoto’s he at least had the excuse of pushing too hard to finish and collapsing after the damn robot – but she’s fine waiting for shit when she asks for it, at least.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“I talked to some of the neighborhood kids,” she says, “about – well, Dad’s birthday is coming up, and I thought if some of them put models together to surprise him it’d be a good present. But seven-year-olds aren’t really versed in the art of doing something just to make someone else happy, so they want a prize.”

Kanji snorts. “Well, at least it ain’t your desk again. What kinda prize?”

“They said they want something called a Proof of Passion? I’ve never heard of it, and maybe you haven’t either, but I figured it was worth asking. Maybe that craft shop in Okina carries them?”

He’s past protesting when someone mentions him in connection with craft shit, and anyway, Aoi-san was one of the first people outside his circle of friends to really know about it and she didn’t give a damn. But the name makes him frown; it sounds familiar…

“Oh! I just found some’a those the other day.” Actually, it was Chie-senpai, scouring a dungeon room after they beat the tar out of some of those wrestler Shadows. (He mostly remembers it because she asked exactly what kind of passion they were talking about here, and then muttered something about spending too much time around Hanamura.)

“Found them? Where?”

Crap. “…Long story,” he says, and really, _really_ hopes she doesn’t keep prying. “I’ll bring ‘em in tomorrow, okay?”

He’s never been happier he put off taking all that crap to Daidara-san.

**November**

Kanji _wants_ to go have lunch on the roof, but there’s this damn fog to consider. (He doesn’t get it. They ruled out the kidnapper, they caught the culprit – why’s shit still this messed up? What is it they’re missing? And there’s fall term finals next week; it’s too much all at once.) He doesn’t think it’ll do any damage, but better safe than sorry, and besides, it’s pulling teeth to get anyone else to go up there in this crap, except the forecast girl. And she ain’t exactly great company if you wanna hear about something other than the weather.

He needs a change of pace from the classroom, though, so he heads for the sewing club room. Long as he doesn’t get food on anyone’s projects, it should be all right.

With no company, he finishes eating fast, and gets out some of his work. He wants to make things for his crew, for Christmas – they deserve it, after helping him with all this crap all year – and for his ma. She needs something nice, part apology for the shit he's put her through and part thanking her for everything she’s done for him. The knitted Persona dolls were the easy part (well, other than all the damn satellite dishes on Rise’s), but it took him forever to decide what to do for his ma.

He still doesn’t feel like a set of handkerchiefs is really enough, and he knows his dye jobs aren’t going to hold a candle to her work, but dammit, he wants to do it all himself for once.

The door slides open, and Kanji about jumps out of his skin; it’s Aoi-san. “I’m sorry,” she says, “I didn’t mean to startle - _wow_. Those are beautiful.”

“Oh, come on, this – these’re nothing.”

“No, they’re not. I never should have said you don’t care about this stuff.”

That means more than the apology she gave him months ago, and Kanji can’t quite hold back a grin. “Thanks. So what is it you’re looking for this time?”

“You remember Dad’s birthday party?”

“You got some kids to build models at him, right?”

“More or less,” Aoi-san says. “The kids actually decided to let him keep the models. Which is great, and more than I expected them to do, but we don’t really have a good place to display them. So I thought for Christmas, since we still don’t have a very big budget, I’d make him a display shelf.”

“But with the lumber store gone…” Kanji nods; he can see where this is going. “Got anything in particular in mind?”

“Something nice, if you can pull it off. I know you’re not exactly made of money either, but you’ve come through for me before. I promise this is the last time I’ll bug you – I just wish I knew what your connections were that you keep pulling this stuff off.”

 _No, you really don’t,_ Kanji thinks. “Ain’t like I don’t know where to find you.”


End file.
